Rogue

Today’s post is a couple of Rogue Talents that’ll be more at home on the Rogue Alternate class I’m slowly working on, but should be fun for the classic Rogue to use too. These talents are intended to be both on the Unchained Rogue and classic Rogue list of Talents.

Novel Research (ex): When doing a forgery of 25 or more pages, the time taken is divided by 10 without affecting the DC. If the forgery is used while doing research on a topic, the user must use the lower of the Knowledge or Profession modifier being used or his Linguistics modifier to detect the forgery. By taking -10 on a Linguistics(forgery) check for a document added into a library, you can portray the forgery as an overriding source, which is generally treated as more relevant information than other sources that oppose it.

Forced Overthinking (ex):
Requires 4 ranks in 3 Knowledge skills or Bardic Knowledge as a 4th level Bard
In your forgeries, you write in small kinks that make your forgeries even more convincing to people trained in the subject. A creature trained in an applicable Knowledge, Profession, or Craft skill appropriate to the topic takes the ranks in the highest ranked appropriate skill as a penalty to his Linguistics checks to detect the forgery.

Field Primer (ex) :
You can take 24 hours and 50g to write a field primer on any creature that you succeeded on a monster knowledge check on. A creature that uses this can make a monster knowledge check on this creature, even if untrained. If the user is trained, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on that check. In either case, the user only gains information pieces that you did not gain when you made the primer. A check made with a Field Primer cannot be used to make a Field Primer.

Picture Perfect Memory (ex) :
For up to 1 day per rogue level after doing research, any knowledge checks that you make benefit from the research. If you have a slotless masterwork or magic item that gives a bonus to Knowledge checks, you continue to gain that bonus for 1 day per rogue level, even if that item is not in your hands or on your person.

The basic theme here is adding fun mobility options to the martial types. Although none of these will match to the versatility of a Fly spell, I feel that most people who play non-magical types don’t quite want Fly repackaged.

Light Dash (Rogue Advanced Talent)
You gain the Run feat. Running can now be done as a move action that does not end your turn, although you are still flat-footed at the end of this move. Any obstacle with a DC no more than your Acrobatics or Climb modifier, and any liquid with a Swim DC less than your Swim modifier does not interrupt your charge or run actions.

Wall Hopper (Rogue Advanced Talent)
You can now move your full land speed while making a Climb check, and your jump height is equal to 1/2 your Acrobatics check instead of 1/4. As long as you can keep making successful jump checks while jumping between 2 objects, such a path does not interrupt a run or charge action.

Sky Crash [Ki]Requirements: Ki Pool, High Jump
While you have Ki in your Ki pool, your jump height is equal to your Acrobatics check. By taking a -10 penalty to your Acrobatics check, you can give yourself a 5ft (perfect) fly speed for 1 round. From this point, you can dive, doing an extra 1d6 per 30 feet you fall if you hit a creature. Any creature hit with this attack must make a Fly check opposed by your Acrobatics or Fly check, or crash. If you have the Slow Fall class feature, you gain the full benefit of it as if you were by a wall for the full distance of your fall.

Special: A monk can take this as a Bonus Feat at 10th level, but must still meet the requirements. A Ninja can take this as an Advanced Ninja Trick. A Qinggong Monk can take this to replace an ability gained no lower than 7th level. He must have High Jump to do so, and using this feat does not cost any ki.

Fortress Crasher (Rage Power)Requirements: Barbarian 10
While Raging, or anytime if you have Improved Overrun, you can attempt to charge through a solid object without interrupting your charge. Any solid object that you charge and any creature you make a successful overrun check on takes your unarmed strike + 3d12 damage. This attack gains 1.5 times strength, as if it were a two-handed weapon. When hitting an immobile object, this ignores hardness equal to 10 + your barbarian level. If the object breaks, you can continue your charge or overrun attempt.

This is a highly experimental, high possibility of going haywire tweak to add onto the Rogue. At this point, a Rogue is not better enough at skills than anyone else, especially in Pathfinder, to really consider it one of his draws. To work on this, I want to add a new class feature on the Pathifnder Rogue, Uncanny Skill. The first part is the skill mechanic itself, though this will come later with a second part of “heroic” skill uses, and a 3rd part of Rogue Talents, Advanced Talents, and other basic uses of Uncanny Skill.

Uncanny Skill: At first level, you gain exceptional ability in one skill. Choose 1 skill that you have trained and either have as a class skill or have Skill Focus in. Whenever you use that skill, you add 1d4 to the skill roll. This amount is your skill dice and it advances based on Table 1, based on your Rogue level. Every 4 levels past first, you can choose 1 more trained skill to gain this bonus on. Also, if you have Skill Focus in a trained skill that is also a class skill, you gain use of this feature with that skill too. You lose the ability to roll extra dice with your skill check if you do not have ranks in that skill equal to your class level.

Secondly, representing a rogue’s uncanny luck and capability to plan, 1 + your Rogue level times per day, you can further push a skill that you have Uncanny Skill for. This takes the same action as the skill use itself, unless it says otherwise.

Unwavering: When making an opposed roll, your skill dice also acts as a penalty to one of your opponents checks. When making a check with circumstance penalties, your skill dice both gives you it’s bonus and reduces the penalties by it’s value. This can never turn a penalty into a bonus.

Quick: If a skill check has a duration up to 1 minute, you can reduce it to one swift action by also giving up the skill dice. If it takes up to 10 minutes, you can instead reduce it to 1d3 full rounds by also giving up the skill dice. This has no effect on checks longer than 10 minutes long.

Tempo: When you roll initiative, after you have seen the result, you can roll 1d20 + your skill dice. If you do so, this replaces your initiative.

Better Mouse Trap: When you reach 4th level, you can use this to apply your skill dice to every skill check you make this round. For skills that you do not have skill dice with, you use your dice as if you were a Rogue 3 levels lower.

Rogue Level

Skill Dice

1st

1d4

4th

1d6

7th

1d8

10th

1d10

13th

2d6

16th

3d6

19th

4d6

+3

+1d6

Note that this isn’t complete without the Heroic skill uses, which will be inspired by the Epic Level Handbook. However, with this, and a few more general uses of Uncanny Skill, a rogue should be able to be the best in non-combat short of high level magic.